Earth Day series: Investments paying off for homeowners

Climate change is here. It’s happening. We are already seeing more floods, more severe weather, more incalculable damage to our buildings and roads on an annual basis. So what do we do?

Staff reports

Note: This is part of a series of articles spotlighting houses that will be featured as part of Wayland’s Earth Day celebration on April 27 and 28. This week we look at 6 Melville Place.

Climate change is here. It’s happening. We are already seeing more floods, more severe weather, more incalculable damage to our buildings and roads on an annual basis. So what do we do?

This question was what spurred Wayland resident Sabine von Mering to join Transition Wayland. Because she felt that no matter what comes, Waylanders will experience climate change together, right here in Wayland.

“We have already started to experience what the scientists mean when they say weather will become more extreme,” she said. “The flooding, storm damage, loss of electricity due to downed power lines. We have no choice but to become more resilient.”

Von Mering teaches German and European cultural studies at Brandeis University, where she recently designed a new course called “Human/Nature: European Perspectives on Climate Change.”

“I realized that one reason nobody really talks about climate change is that it is viewed as a scientific problem. But scientists don’t train people to talk about what their findings might mean for the rest of us.”

As director for the Center for German and European Studies at Brandeis, von Mering has been working on bringing guest speakers to talk to her students about European approaches to climate change.

“People tend to go from denial to despair when they start to understand what scientists know about the coming decades. When they hear that there is something they can do, it really helps.”

To von Mering, the idea of reaching out to her neighbors in Wayland is an important part of what the worldwide Transition movement hopes to accomplish. That’s why she agreed to add her house to Transition Wayland’s Earth Day open houses this year.

“We need to talk to each other. These are big challenges, and we can help each other.”

She points out that her house is not much more resilient than the average home in Wayland.

“I still flush drinking water down my toilets, and I lose a lot of heat through two open fireplaces. I don’t have the time to turn a big portion of my yard into a full vegetable garden. But I’m eager to learn more from others who have good ideas.”

When Solarize came around, von Mering realized her house was perfectly situated with its roof facing south. Now she has 16 solar panels on her roof, producing over 4,000 kilowatt hours per year. Not only has this investment dramatically reduced her electricity bill, “I’m also paying much more attention to turning things off – like that black box for the TV. I had no idea that it uses so much electricity when the TV isn’t even on!”

One requirement of the Solarize process was a MassSave energy audit. An expert from MassSave spent a good part of a day at von Mering’s home measuring every nook and cranny to figure out where heat is lost. Then MassSave handed her a proposal – invest in air sealing and insulation updates and reduce the heat loss dramatically. Von Mering said it was a no-brainer. After the work was completed she felt the difference right away.

The experience encouraged her to do more. “It feels really good to find out how much we can actually do to fight climate change. And how all the little things we do have all these positive side effects, like improving air quality, saving money, creating jobs …”

On the weekend of April 27 and 28, von Mering hopes to engage those who come to visit her Earth Day open house by showing a brief movie about climate change, and leading a discussion about the steps one can take to mitigate its effects.

“We can’t wait until our politicians start believing what our scientists say,” she said. “It’s going to be too little, too late. We need to have this conversation now, right here in our neighborhoods.

“I hope many people will join us and open their houses, too. Maybe we’ll even inspire other communities to do the same! Earth Day is the perfect moment to do this.”

Earth Day 2013 is organized by the Wayland Schools PTO Green Team and Transition Wayland. You can find more information, as well as a map and schedule of the open houses, by going online (www.transitionwayland.org). If you would like to host your own open house, send us an email (info@transitionwayland.org).